Looking for more information about Ira T Richards, Jr?

Sources

Other Websites

There are no links about Ira T Richards, Jr.

Stories

Sort

Ira T. Richards, Jr., was my uncle. His mother, my grandmother, raised me and shared so many stories and memories of "Junior." He convinced Mama to let him quit high school and enlist in the Army when he was 17. They lived in Appalachia, VA, at the time. Uncle Junior is buried in the Netherlands because the Army did not bring fallen soldiers' bodies home for burial back then. If the family had money to pay for it, they could but otherwise, fallen soldiers were buried in Europe.
I have been in touch with the Dutch family that adopted Uncle Junior's gravesite in Holland. They take flowers on his birthday and the anniversary of his death. They tell me that the Dutch were and continue to be so grateful for their freedom the Americans helped them regain; the Dutch people all recognize the price paid for that freedom.
We take our own freedom for granted and forget the price paid by our young men and women around the world over the years. My nephew, who recently retired from the active Army, Major Michael John Collier, now has Uncle Junior's Purple Heart and other memorabilia from the government. He can cherish it and pass along to his son to keep the respect and memory going into the next generations.
We have always loved you Uncle Junior and are forever grateful for your loving sacrifice!!
Sharon K. Johnson
sjohnson19@cox.net